Appellazione da Origine Controllata

[Svartalf]

Or Appellation d'Origine Contôlée... That's a label that some countries give specific agricultural products (most notably wine) as a guarantee of quality and a protection of the specific name from unqualified sellers of shit.

So whenever I see that acronym AOC, I just don't think of American politics, that young lady should have chosen a set of initials that weren't already called for.

[Scot Dutchy]

The UK has a few of those as well. Cheddar cheese comes to mind. After Brexit no more protection.

[Rum]

I always think of high priced protectionist agricultural racketeering personally.

[Svartalf]

well, even lower priced wines have their own system of appellations when they can't make the book of the higher AOC system... these days, I wonder if even the most basic plonk does not have some kind of official label

[Scot Dutchy]

They do but I forget the term.

Rum I think it is a good thing. Fete from Denmark can never be Greek even with the wildest imagination.

[Svartalf]

well, I don't know how they call french made feta, because I'm pretty sure that a) they've not stopped making it and b) they no longer can call it 'feta'.

[Rum]

They do but I forget the term.

Rum I think it is a good thing. Fete from Denmark can never be Greek even with the wildest imagination.

We have ‘Cornish brie’, ‘irish Cheddar’ and all the rest, though some brands are protected of course as per (currently) EU regs. It does seem a bit of a messy and inconsistent system though.

I think the the public needs to be sure of the ‘real thing’ like Parma ham and the like, but I have long been suspicious that the apparent obsession with regional food and other produce in France in particular rigs the market. I don’t personally mind as food is still relatively cheap there and wonderful of course. Visiting a large supermarket, let alone a local market is a pleasure compared to here.

[Svartalf]

Yeah Cornish Brie ran wrong with me, but the name Brie is only partially protected, like camembert

[JimC]

We had to change the names of our home-grown Port and Sherry! Damn foreigners!

[Svartalf]

well, I sure hope the official port and sherry are better than the locally produced stuff, or I'll need to know the new names so I can look for them.

[JimC]

Actually, there are some beautiful fortified wines made in Oz, particularly in the area around Rutherglen in not-eastern Victoria...

[Svartalf]

You make me want to try it, except of course a trip to Oz is well beyond my financial ability

[Hermit]

This thread reminds me of a discussion concerning protected names a few years ago, starting here. Personally, I don't mind the proprietary approach to them. It made no difference to me whether the label on the wine I like to drink says Claret or Cabernet Sauvignon. It's the same grape.

[Svartalf]

actually not, cabernet sauvignon is a varietal wine made solely from that grape, claret is wine made from an assemblage of varieties of grapes, even if cabernet is a majority of the mix, AND grown specifically in the particular environment of the Bordeaux area, which means that it won't taste the same as a california carbernet.

[JimC]

Most, if not all wines in Oz are now named via grape variety. Blends may be given idiosyncratic names, but the varieties within are always named.

There is no more Hermitage, Hermit...